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Johnny Depp on Shooting 'The Rum Diary'

By ETonline Staff 5:00 AM PDT, October 13, 2011

For his upcoming film The Rum Diary, Johnny Depp returned to the Caribbean -- this time as a reporter. ET's Nancy O'Dell got the actor to spill on what it was like shooting the movie and how big an influence his family has on his career choices.

"I spent very little time in San Juan, Puerto Rico prior to this film," Depp admitted. "There's a real celebration of life there. The people are incredibly warm and very welcoming."

In The Rum Diary, Depp plays Paul Kemp, a roving New York City journalist in the Eisenhower era who escapes to pristine Puerto Rico for a gig at the local, run-down newspaper, The San Juan Star. In between gallons of rum and LSD trips, Kemp soon becomes obsessed with the incredibly attractive Connecticut-born fiancee (Amber Heard) of Sanderson, a shady American entrepreneur (Aaron Eckhart).

When Kemp discovers that Sanderson and his cohorts are looking to convert the country into a capitalist paradise for the wealthy, he's faced with helping to promote their corrupt scheme -- or take them down, big time.

Depp revealed that even in the beautiful surroundings of the island, he still missed home.

"I had the family down there for a couple months," said Depp, who admitted that he's reluctant to agree to any film that keeps him away from his family for an extended period of time.

The doting dad also discussed one of the father figures of his life, the late Hunter S. Thompson, who wrote the book that provides the basis for the film.

"He was someone that I could call for advice," said Depp. "He was a great man of wisdom, and I was able to sponge a lot from him."